Magnetic Properties of Thin Films

Materials researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), together with colleagues from IBM and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have Produced the first data on how the edges of metallic thin films contribute to their magnetic properties.

Measuring the magnetic properties of the thin film edge further revealed that the magnetic properties of the thin film edge are affected by the thickness of the film and processing conditions during the stripe patterning.

The results of this work may impact the design of future nanoscale electronics.

The spectroscopic image below shows microwave-frequency magnetic resonances of an array of parallel, metallic thin film nanowire "stripes". The peak in the center reflects resonances occurring at the stripe edges. The strong horizontal bar of violet, black, and white, is due to resonances in the body of the stripes.

Dr. Robert D. McMichael at NIST was the scientist in charge of the overall research project. Dr. David Abraham at IBM generously made repeated, customized samples for the NIST team. Dr. Brian Maranville, a member of APS, was the research physicist in charge of measurements and data organization.